The Secret of Bai Sing Se
by writerxkatara
Summary: Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph have arrived in Bai Sing Se. But something isn't right about the city. Things aren't what the group has been told they would be, and it looks like finding Appa is going to be a difficult task. A love is blossoming somewhere i
1. Secret of Bai Sing Se

Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka were thrown back into their so-called 'home'. They were now prisoners of Bai Sing Se, although they were in the highest class possible. Katara sat on the cushion, wiping off the make-up Toph had told her to put on both of them. She took off the silly hair ornament, and her long brown hair came down in curls, the flowers falling out. She didn't change out of the outfit, but took off the shoes. Aang went over, picking up the flowers and sitting in front of her, staring at the beautiful flowers in his hands.

"I can't believe it. All I've heard about Bai Sing Se from gran-gran. It was all a lie," Katara whispered. "Bai Sing Se is a utopia forced upon people. They think they are safe, but they aren't. They are just being forced to think what they wish to believe."

Aang touched the soft petals of a lily. It was a flower that grew all around the Southern Air Temple, so high in the mountains. He was surprised that they were around here as well. They were considered the oriental flower, the flower for women. He was happy that he saw Katara as a beautiful, rich young woman, but he liked her better as a warrior. She was more beautiful Waterbending. Katara touched his shoulder, and he looked up slowly.

"All these people, they need me. But I can't help them because we'll lose our chances of finding Appa. How could this happen to us?" Aang said, and Katara pulled him into a hug, where he closed his eyes as he had when she brought him out of the Avatar State at the Southern Air Temple.

Toph sniffed. She was crying. Momo crept up her arm and curled on top of her head. She smiled a little bit, knowing that he did that a lot, but she was a prisoner of society yet again. Sokka went over and wiped the blind girl's eyes, but she smacked his hand away. She was tired of being watched. Yeah, Sokka was a great older brother, if he was genetically her brother, but he was annoying and she didn't need to be babied.

"Aang, we'll find Appa. Then, we'll fly out of here and go to the Northern Water Tribe again. And then to Kyoshi! We'll tell all of them what the solar eclipse will do to the world. To the Fire Nation. Who cares about those fancy guys in black? Every single warrior in this world that wants to defeat the Fire Nation will find out about the solar eclipse," Katara said.

Aang raised his head, nodding. Katara was right. She got up, walking into the room and getting ready to change back into her usual outfit. But something came to mind as she did. She turned back and pulled Toph into the room, who was still crying but stopped with a yelp at the yank of her arm.

"I'd be able to walk myself if you had asked politely," Toph said, sitting on the bed known as hers.

Katara nodded, and started to braid her hair and then formed the two tiny braids that usually curved her face. She turned around to Toph, and smiled. They were going to cheer Aang up. He needed some support. And some fun. Katara changed into her normal clothes, without the shoes. She kept the wrappings off and her necklace, setting it carefully in the locked chest that sat upon the vanity. She prayed that no one would take it from her. She told Toph her idea.

"Aang really needs to have some fun. I think I'll take him out to the watering pools tomorrow evening, him and I."

"Like a date? You two would be so romantic together. I can tell by the way you move around one another, and your voices."

"Toph, stop it! We're…just friends. I think."

"Friends with benefits. That's what my mother used to say about her and my dad before they got married. Weird how these things work out, really."

"Toph!"

"You're blushing. I can tell. I don't know how, but you are."

Katara was indeed blushing. She tugged at her braid, wondering if she and Aang were ever going to be something more than 'just friends'. She forgot what the fortuneteller had told her so long ago, in that village. But that was nothing. She ignored this, and walked out, her tiny feet being heard by Momo, but not by Aang. He was in his room, looking out the window towards the lower ranks of Bai Sing Se. Katara put a hand on the door frame, resting her head against it as well. Aang was so…peaceful at night. He was always thinking about others, like everyone should be. Aang turned at the sound of Katara sighing, who straightened up when their eyes connected. She blushed, and walked in further, her feet feeling cold against the stones.

"What is it, Katara?"

"I was thinking. Tomorrow, you remember those lakes and watering pools that we passed? I was hoping you and I, alone, could go and, well, have some fun tomorrow evening."

Aang smiled, looking back out the window. Momo came in, sitting between them. Katara gave a tiny laugh as he started to jump up and down, but he calmed and moved over to a pillow in the corner of the room meant for him. Aang turned back to Katara, nodding. He wanted to spend time with her. Just her and only her. No interruptions from Sokka's clumsiness, or Toph wanting to train him in Earthbending. He wanted to wash away the worries of the war for just a day, or even the night.

"I'm glad you want to have some fun, Aang. I guess I'll head to bed now. Good night," Katara got up, walking towards the door when Aang called her name. "What is it?"

"I…I want to ask you something."

Katara smiled, walking back over and sitting on the floor in front of him. Aang looked sad now. She knew he missed Appa. She did as much as him. Appa was the one they trusted from the beginning, along with Momo. Katara took Aang's hand, covering it with both of hers.

"You can always ask me anything. Everything and anything I will answer, Aang."

"Katara, when I saw you in that outfit, I thought I was in heaven. Of course, Toph ruined the moment, but still. Watching you enjoy that, it made you so happy, and it made me happy. I know you haven't dressed that lavishly in a long time, right?"

"I've never dressed that beautifully. It made me feel, well, like a princess. I've always wished that the Southern Water Tribe would have royalty and they would choose me as the first Queen. But when I discovered my powers, I thought, well, Queen or warrior? I chose warrior over Queen. Because I wanted to follow in my great-great grandmother's footsteps."

"You looked like a princess. The make-up I think you would've looked better without. Make-up hides a girl's true beauty. You are more beautiful without the fancy hair designs and fancy clothes. You're beautiful as Katara, the Waterbender, the warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, my friend," Aang paused, looking into her eyes. "The one I really like."

"Aang," Katara whispered, letting go of his hand and throwing her arms around him. "I know how you feel about me. I-I feel the same way so much."

Aang smiled. Katara really loved him. When they first met, they were only kids trying to Waterbend. Both of them, for Aang had to master the element and Katara just needed to learn to advance her skills. Now they were both masters of Waterbending, and had fallen in love with one another even more.

"Katara, I don't know how to say this," Aang gave a nervous laugh. "I guess I'd like you to be my…girlfriend."


	2. Love Is So Sweet

Katara laughed, and kissed him on the cheek. Aang turned red and smiled like a kid again. Apparently that was a yes. Aang smiled as Katara slowly moved her lips from his cheek to his lips, which made contact. The full moon shone into the room, making the setting perfect. They didn't care if some stupid secret agents were watching them. They didn't care about the war, the fact that the people in Bai Sing Se didn't know about the war, they were oblivious at the fact that Toph and Sokka were looking at them. Toph by vibrations, of course, and Sokka with his mouth opened wide. As they pulled apart, Katara's heart ached, as though she were never going to see her again. Aang slowly opened his eyes, seeing the dreamy stare in Katara's.

"What was that?" Sokka said, walking into the room and lighting some lamps.

Katara stood up, shocked at the fact that her brother saw them kissing. Okay, so she did care about that. But it was her brother. She was supposed to worry about that. Aang looked scared as Toph wagged a finger at him, yelling words that didn't even make sense as they were being ran together.

"I'm sorry! Whatever I did, I'm sorry!" Aang yelled, backing against the wall as Toph came closer.

"We're here to get Appa! Not for you two to fall in love!"

"Toph, what did you say earlier to me?" Katara said, taking the girl's wrist roughly. "What did you say? 'Oh, I think you and Aang going to the water pools in the evening is so romantic!' That is exactly what you said!"

Toph blushed, and scuffled her way out of the room. Sokka followed, grumbling. Katara gave Aang another kiss on the cheek, smiling softly, and followed the other two, shouts ringing into Aang's room as she caught up with her brother. Aang smiled to himself, falling backwards onto his bed. He had kissed Katara. And it was more romantic this time. And they were together too! This was better than earlier. This was the best thing that had happened in the whole journey in Bai Sing Se. Hopefully tomorrow they'll have even more fun, and maybe a bit more kissing as well. Hopefully they'll find Appa as well, too. Without that stupid tour guide following them everywhere.

The next morning, Katara stretched as she went out to get the paper that was always sitting in the basket on a column that held up the porch. She rolled her eyes at what she saw on the front page. A stupid thing about the King's bear again. Was that all they cared about? She really wished that they would worry about the war. That was what the world was based on now, and they were avoiding that by taking these people and forcing them to forget what they heard. Katara tossed the paper back in the basket, sitting down on the steps, strands of hair falling out of her braids. She blew them out of her eyes as she saw the governor across the street open his door, waving good morning to get his paper.

"Morning," Katara muttered, giving a half-hearted wave. This city was horrible. Maybe she should have listened to Sokka and they should have ran away last night, try to find Appa, and then get out of here. "Oh, hey Ju Dee."

Their tour guide showed up, still smiling as usual. Katara rolled her eyes, setting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. Ju Dee walked up the path towards Katara, bowing. Rolling her eyes again, Katara stood up, groaning and entering the house, Ju Dee following.

"Look, we don't need you following us in the house. I know how to cook, clean, everything. I was born in the Southern Water Tribe. If you don't listen to me and let us be in peace in our house, I will talk to the guards about this."

"Oh, but I am hear to deliver good news!" Ju Dee said, smiling yet.

"Whatever. Come on in, Ju Dee."

Katara knocked on Aang's door, then Sokka's, and finally Toph's. Everyone came out, grumbling, rubbing their eyes. They weren't pleased being wakened by Katara, who woke up early all the time. Aang didn't mind when he realized that Katara was fully awake, but had a bad attitude since Ju Dee came by so early. Katara sat down, arms crossed. Aang sat down next to her, Sokka on his other side, Toph on Katara's left.

"The King said he will see you tonight! He heard of the Avatar's presence at his bear's party, and thinks it would be great to thank you in person!" Ju Dee said excitedly.

"Are we going to see him in that stupid carriage, hear a thank you from his adviser, and then see him be carried off?" Katara grumbled.

"Probably, but that is better than nothing!"

"We want to speak to him, Ju Dee. Just talk to him. He is a king. Kings don't let advisers do the work for them. Kings do the work themselves. Political, financial, every single thing," Toph said, rubbing her eyes. "Katara, where's breakfast? I'm really hungry right now."

"Their supposed to bring it to us, remember? There's no kitchen in this place. Sorry, but this isn't a kitchen-allowed house," Katara said. "Ju Dee, where's our breakfast?"

"It shall be here in thirty minutes. I will be going now. I shall pick you up this evening." Ju Dee bowed and left the house, allowing the inhabitants to mind their own business in peace.

"Too bad the Dai Lei is watching our every move. I wanted to Airbend my way down the hill," Aang said with a yawn, stretching out on the pillows he made into a chair.

"I wanted to go out to the backyard where a nice watering pool is. There looks like enough of water to bend into something fanciful," Katara said dreamily.

"Me, I just want to get some food," Toph grunted.

"Same here!"

Everyone looked at Sokka, who got hit in the back of the head by Katara. Sokka gave a yell as he fell forwards, and Katara gave a satisfied smile. She was pleased that she had finally given him a good hit in the head that he deserved. Aang gave a laugh, falling over, clutching his sides since he was laughing so hard. Toph didn't know what had happened, so she stood there, staring blankly into the air, although she couldn't see. Katara walked over to the door as a loud knock came.

"Here is your breakfast, sirs and madams. If you need anything, we will be in the house nearby," the man pointed five houses downs.

Katara nodded, and the men came in, carrying trays upon trays of food, drinks, and other breakfast items. Katara gave a look to Aang, who shrugged his shoulders. They really didn't need all of this food, though. There were only four of them. Why was all the food needed? Well, it didn't really matter. Momo ate a lot of food as well, so that made it even. Sokka started to drool when he saw the pastries being opened by a young woman, who thought he was drooling at her.

"Pardon me, I don't want to be with you."

"Oh? Huh? I was drooling at the food, sorry. Food's awesome," he said, reaching for a strawberry-flavored pastry and taking a huge bite. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," bowed the young woman, and left with the rest of them.

Katara sat next to Aang, and Toph sat next to Sokka. She asked where some rolls were, Sokka handing them to her as soon as she said that. Toph raised her eyebrows, taking one and setting the bowl before her, eating her roll. Katara took a bowl of berries and smiled as she noticed all her favorites were in there. Aang was drinking some water that actually tasted like some sort of fruit. They had all found something they enjoyed to eat. But before they could even dig into their favorites, Ju Dee came back.

"Ju Dee! Please, leave us alone!" Katara shouted, trying to shove the woman out of their house.

"Oh, but you are done eating, I see! I'll send for the maids to clean up."

"No, we aren't done eating! I barely even got to eat half a berry! Please, go."

"If you insist, Katara. I shall come back later. When would be a good time for you?"

"How about in ten hours? When we want to be bothered."

"You don't want to search for your bison?"

"Well, we would like to, but you would be a better host if you let us search the city ourselves. Don't worry, we've gotten in worse trouble than being caught by some robbers."

Katara shut the door and locked it with ice as Ju Dee left the house. Hopefully that would keep them out for awhile. She went back over to the table and sat back down, sighing. She took up her bowl of berries again and started to eat, this time without interruption. That was what she had been wanting so badly.

Aang finished his water and reached for a roll from Toph, but she snatched up the bowl, then laughed, holding it out for him to take one. She smiled at him, but didn't even know if Aang smiled back to her. She felt weird not being able to know what a person looked like thanks to her blindness. Toph stood up, saying she was full and walked into her room. Katara shrugged her shoulders and ate some more. Sokka was still eating like crazy, the same with Momo, who was reaching up from underneath the table with his tiny paws to gather up food from the many trays. They were enjoying everything when a gong started to sound from the palace wall. Apparently there were people gathering around there. Katara looked at the other two, who followed her out of the house so they could see what was going on. Toph soon caught up with them, looking a bit confused.

"What's going on?"

"We don't know yet. I think someone is making a speech," Katara muttered.

Indeed someone was. This person was hard to see as they were all the way on top of the wall, and the sunlight was coming from behind him, causing his front to look as though it were a shadow. The man was fat, and it was definitely not a woman. Everything about him told the group that he wasn't supposed to be up there. Katara put a hand on Aang's shoulder as guards tried to get up to him, but he blocked them off with Earthbending.

"People of the upper ring! You must listen to me! You are being told what to do! There is a war going on! Outside the walls of Bai Sing Se! The walls are protecting us, so do not worry about the war outside, but worry about the war inside! Against the Dai Lei, who are forcing us to do things we would not normally do!"

Aang looked at his friends. He would be in trouble if they were even involved with this guy. Katara shook her head when she realized what Aang was thinking. He nodded, knowing that she would be disappointed as much as him if they couldn't find Appa.

"In fact, let's just go and find Appa. Come on, I'm sure Ju Dee and the others won't even find us. Let's just head to the lower ring first. That'll be easier to get to."

The group followed Aang towards the lower ring, where the Black Market was held and a lot of the refugees lived when they first arrived in Bai Sing Se. Katara smiled as little girls in the middle ring ran about in the fields that were available just for that reason. They seemed happy, but they didn't know what they were in. They were in a society that was being controlled by a force of people who think they knew what they were doing was best for the people, but it wasn't. Bai Sing Se was supposed to be a society that was to be equal to the rest of the world, but protected by the walls of Bai Sing Se. That wasn't the case. Katara took a last look at the middle ring as they entered the lower ring. It was a bit pleasant, in some areas. But not a lot of the city was pleasant, especially in the lower ring. Katara grimaced when she saw a young boy and girl crying in the alley way, after another child took their toy. Their father probably worked hard on that toy, and now their father had to work hard again to make another one for them to enjoy.

"This isn't right. All these people need help, but the government isn't doing anything about it. It's terrible. Children don't have shoes to cover their feet, they don't have food, and many of these families don't even have shelter. What about those people we met before we got into the city? The one with the baby named Hope," Katara said. "What happened to them? They're probably in some rundown apartment building, trying to find food for their baby girl."

Aang nodded, his hands clenched into fists. He was feeling the same pain as Katara was. He believed in a perfect society where there was no war, and everyone had the equal chance to go wherever they wanted to. But this wasn't equal. They were blocked off by walls, ranks, and everything else. He took Katara's hand, leading her down an alley way, Toph and Sokka following closely behind them. He smiled up at her, trying to make her feel a bit happier.

"Look, we'll make it all right later on. The city will be a bit more unpopulated once everything outside is over, which should be soon once we find Appa," Aang said reassuringly.

"I know, but I don't think we'll get out of here in time to tell the Northern Water Tribe about the Solar Eclipse! We'll have to wait years, decades, maybe even centuries! The Solar Eclipse happens in three more months, Aang. We have to get out of here soon," Toph said, holding onto Sokka's wrist.

"Yeah, yeah. I know how it goes!"


	3. Running Away

Aang still had a hold on Katara's hand. He wouldn't let go of her, obviously. He turned several sharp corners, apparently knowing where he was going. Finally, they arrived in an area covered by a tarp. Aang let go of Katara's hand, walking forward towards a man who just came out of a shop nearby. Katara felt threatened by the look this man gave all of them, but she stood her ground next to her brother. Toph still had a hold of Sokka's wrist, smiling as she did so. The man started to speak to Aang, nodding when Aang told him who he was. Then, their voices became low as they talked about Appa, it seemed. The man gave a wide-eyed look, his head going every which-way, looking around to see if anyone was there. He waved his hand towards a large door, motioning for them to follow him.

"Where are we going, Aang?" Katara asked, running up to walk next to Aang.

"We're getting Appa, that's where we're going," he muttered.

"But how did you know he was here? This is so weird, Aang! Really, how did you know to come this way?"

"Ju Dee passed this place, while we were in the carriage, and was speaking to that man. They want us to stay here for some reason, and you want to know something? I don't care. I told that man if he didn't give me Appa, he is in some serious trouble," Aang had his hands clenched in fists again.

Katara shook her head. Aang was heading towards violence, but apparently it was working. The man told them that Appa was in the back room, safe and warm, fed every day when he seemed to be hungry, given water, and they would even wash him every so often if he looked dirty. Aang ran back there, smiling as he opened the door.

"Appa!" the group cried in unison, rushing forwards and giving the huge flying bison a hug.

"Appa, I'm so glad I found you," Aang said, laughing as Appa gave him a huge lick with his tongue. Katara laughed as well, patting Appa on the forehead as she climbed up him.

"We're taking you out of here, buddy! We're going out to the Northern Water Tribe, where there is plenty of fish and seaweed for you to eat, right, Aang?" Katara said, smiling.

"Yep. Thanks, sir!"

"Anytime, Avatar."

They all lead Appa out, Toph in the saddle. As soon as they were out in the opening, the man removed the tarp, revealing the large sunshine. Appa gave a roar, birds flying off the rooftops. Aang floated up to Appa's head, helping Katara up next to him, and Sokka climbing up to sit next to Toph in the saddle. Katara felt relieved that Appa could still fly as Aang flicked the reins and they soared into the sky. They flew back to the house they were staying at first, where Ju Dee was standing on the steps, not smiling as usual. They looked at one another, except Toph, who kept her head pointing forward. They were in trouble now.

"You found your bison, I see. Well, I guess you'll be able to stay now!"

"No, Ju Dee, we are leaving. We're going back to the North Pole, where we are needed. We're sorry, but that's the only place we can go!" Katara said, walking up the steps and entering the house. She needed to get her necklace and put the wrappings on her wrists. Aang followed, getting his glider staff.

"Boomerang!" Sokka said as he entered his room, picking up the sack of his usual weapons. He smiled as Toph came in, saying she pretty much had everything. "Good, let's head back out. I've got the scrolls, and my boomerang."

"You and that stupid boomerang. How pathetic is it for a seventeen-year-old to still own a boomerang?"

"It's very sharp, and a good weapon!" Sokka snapped at her, pulling her out of the room and walking out of the house.

Katara and Aang were sitting in Appa's saddle, waiting for the two to come out of the house. Ju Dee was trying to reason with them. The obvious reason was that the Earth King didn't want people outside to find out what was going on with Bai Sing Se. The world was going to find out thanks to Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph. Momo came flying up and sat on Katara's shoulders as Aang told Appa 'Yip yip', and they soared into the sky, leaving Bai Sing Se behind.

"Should we really leave that city behind like that?" Katara asked, taking a look back as the inner wall started to disappear.

"It'll be fine once the war is over. People will find out, and then they'll know it is safe to go back home," Toph said, her arms crossed as usual. "That's usually how it goes with refugees!"

Katara nodded, and turned away from the wall. Soon the outer wall came into appearance, and they soared over that as well. Now it was onto the Northern Water Tribe, to give the most important information needed for the war. Aang told Appa where they were going, and he understood. Aang went back to sit next to Katara, the group started talking away.

"I'll miss the outfits, though," Toph muttered.

"Toph!"


	4. The Nightmare

_Stopping in a forest that seemed well hidden in a valley, Appa landed, wanting to rest. He just needed to get used to flying again, having not done so in over a month or so. Katara walked over to the river and took off her clothes, showing her bathing suit that was underneath. She jumped into the water, floating around. Toph stuck her feet in and that was about it. She didn't know how to swim exactly. Aang just sat on a rock, arms wrapped around his legs, staring at Katara floating in the water, her eyes closed. Sokka was sharpening his boomerang, not even paying attention to the other three. Katara went underwater, without anyone noticing, and swam down to the depths. She smiled as she looked about, then she needed to come back up for air. As she surfaced, she noticed that she was now past Aang, who was now staring into his reflection in the water. Katara smiled softly, and tried to swim towards him. But she was stuck in a current._

_"Aang!" Katara screamed, trying to bend the current in an opposite direction. "Aang, help me!"_

_Aang didn't seem to answer her. He didn't even turn to her. Katara was becoming weaker as the current pulled her towards a high waterfall. She gave a scream, trying to grab a root that was sticking out next to the river. No luck. She was falling down the waterfall; the last thing she remembered was seeing Aang, looking down upon her with a sad look on his face. Then, darkness surrounded the young Waterbender._

Katara's large, ocean blue eyes snapped open. She gave a loud scream, waking everyone in the campsite up. She started to thrash about in her sleeping bag, screaming Aang's name repeatedly. She still felt as though she were falling down that endless waterfall. She didn't want to go near another river again. She wanted to stay away from them. Sokka ran over to his sister, holding her down by the shoulders. He yelled her name, telling her to quiet down.

"Katara, it was just a nightmare! Stop it, Katara! Stop it!" Sokka said, shaking his sister.

Toph and Aang walked over, trying to figure out what was wrong with Katara. Katara soon settled down, breathing deeply. She was sweating, shaking, and her heart was racing. Aang knelt down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay, Katara?" he asked softly.

Katara slowly took her shoulder away from him, getting out of her sleeping bag and walking into the forest, hugging herself. She didn't want to believe that dream was real. She wasn't going to believe that it was going to come true. But it had seemed so real, every movement, every feeling, every rush of water going into her body had felt so real. And Aang's face. That was going to haunt her forever. She was never going to forget that face she had seen in that nightmare. She was never going to get rid of it. She shook herself as a cold breeze surrounded her as she sat down, her back against a tree.

"Katara?"

She looked up, seeing Aang sitting in a branch above her. He looked worried, not sad. She could accept that face. Why didn't Aang save her in her dream? Aang had always been her savior, and she had always been his protector. Ever since they found one another after he came out of that iceberg had they been those two things to one another. Now, it was impossible to accept that fact since Katara's dream.

"Katara, come on. What was the nightmare about?" Aang said, floating down and sitting in front of her.

"Go away!" Katara forced water from the ground up and sprayed it at him. He fell backwards, allowing Katara time to get up and run deeper into the forest.

"Katara! Stop! I didn't mean any harm!"

Katara ran, wiping tears from her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was doing, running into the forest away from the one she loved. She fell over a root, falling into a prickly bush. She gave yelps and cries as she tried to make her way out, getting scratched in the process. Her face, hands, arms, and neck were all bleeding with cuts and bruises when she finally got out. She laid there, tears pouring out of her eyes. She just lied there, crying herself to sleep.

Aang jumped from tree branch to tree branch, looking for Katara. Where had she gotten to? Whatever he did, he knew he would make up for it later. He heard her cries, her screams, her yells. Aang followed the voice of Katara, and soon found her lying on the ground, crying in her sleep. She was bleeding all over her arms and face. What had she gotten herself into? Aang floated down next to her, trying to not disturb her as she shifted in her sleep, crying some more. Aang lifted her up, and she opened her eyes. She gave a jump, falling out of Aang's arms.

"Don't run again, Katara. I didn't do anything wrong. What did I do? What was your nightmare about?"

"No," Katara muttered, tears starting to spill out of her eyes again. "I don't want to tell you, Aang. My arm!"

Katara clutched her left arm, and lifted her sleeve. Her shoulder was bruised badly from falling, and she gave a yell when she touched it. Aang put his hand to it softly, and they both looked at one another. Katara fell into his soft, brown eyes. How could she have been so stupid as to run away from him? Katara put a hand to his face, crying still. She pressed her lips against his, tears spilling onto his cheeks now as she did so. Aang moved his hands to her back, pulling her closer to his body. Katara fell into a world of love, caress and happiness. Aang closed his eyes, knowing that Katara was slowly calming down.

"Aang! Katara!" rang out Sokka's and Toph's voices. They were searching for them. Katara reluctantly pulled away from Aang, smiling now. She took a deep breath, still staring into his eyes.

"What was the dream about, Katara? You can tell all of us if you want to," Aang whispered.

"It was about…you," Katara muttered, casting her eyes away from his. "I was caught in a current in the river, and I was trying to bend my way out, but I couldn't. I cried out your name, but you had this look on your face. You didn't even hear me. As I fell down a waterfall, you just stared at me with this look of sadness. It was as if you were letting go of me forever."

Aang held her even tighter. He wasn't ever going to let go of Katara. She deserved to be loved, and she was afraid of losing him. Why would he want to forget Katara? Why would he let her fall to her death? It was just a silly nightmare, probably caused by something they all ate earlier that day. Sokka and Toph finally appeared, Sokka pulling his sister away from Aang and Toph putting a hand on Aang's shoulder.

"Katara! You are torn up! Let's get you back to camp and get you fixed up!" Sokka yanked his sister away from the bush and back to the campsite.

Aang and Toph walked back, Aang leading Toph back because it was so dark and she couldn't exactly see where she was going. Toph kept on tilting her head up to Aang, but he was silent throughout the walk back. She was worried about her friend, her student, her accomplice in many of their adventures. Maybe something was truly wrong between him and Katara. She ignored this, knowing that she shouldn't be mixed up in their emotions. It was their problem, and if they wanted help, they would ask either Toph or Sokka.


	5. Old Friends

Morning soon arose, causing the group to pack up a lot of their things and get ready to move on. Toph was trying to tell Sokka that she didn't need to take down her Earth tent every time they moved on from each campsite. Sokka argued back that it was the safest thing to do because it would stop the Fire Nation from following them.

"Well, maybe if you didn't leave the campfire there they probably wouldn't find us! Sokka, let's just go, and I'll start doing that if you start destroying the campfire completely!"

"Deal," Sokka shook hands with Toph, and they climbed up onto Appa, Aang flicking the reins so they could fly on.

Katara sat in the back, while Toph and Sokka continued to talk among one another. Katara was still thinking about her nightmare, but then again, she was trying to make sure her cuts didn't come open. She was covered with bandages, her hands wrapped in white cloth. She had really messed herself up. Now she was having difficulties bending the water around her because she was thinking so hard about the nightmare. Aang came back and sat down next to her, checking her right hand, which wasn't as bad as the rest of her arms.

"Your cuts should be better towards the end of this month, hopefully," Sokka said, noticing that they were looking at her hands. "But if we get to the Northern Water Tribe sooner, I'm sure some Healers will fix you up."

Katara gave him a glare. She didn't need women fixing her up. She was able to heal herself. She wiped her mind clear, taking water out of the canteen that was always swung over Katara's back, and formed it over her hands after she took of the wrappings. The cuts slowly started to disappear. Katara kept her eyes closed so she could focus on what she was doing. Soon, the cuts were gone, and she was able to bend normally.

"Too bad that doesn't work on your face," Sokka joked.

"You really want to get smacked again?" Katara snapped.

"No!"

Toph gave a laugh, and started moving her head to the left and right. She was sensing something with her heightened hearing, but Aang didn't see anything when he glided through the clouds.

"Might've been a bird or something. I didn't really think I could hear something this high up, so it could have also been the wind," Toph said, lying back and yawning. "I think I'll go to sleep."

Sokka grumbled, crossing his arms. He was hungry and there wasn't any food. Katara had gathered berries, but he didn't want any of that. Katara always picked those since she was polite to Aang being a vegetarian. Sokka wondered how Aang couldn't survive without meat. Of course, he was in love with every animal he met, so no wonder he didn't eat meat. Sokka's stomach gave a growl, and he looked down.

"There's no food, and I'm starving," he muttered.

"We just ate breakfast!" Katara said, looking up at him from staring at her hands.

"So? I'm hungry!"

"Sokka! Really now, you can't expect to be eating every single hour, now do you? We're back to a normal schedule. We aren't the lavishly pampered citizens of Bai Sing Se anymore," Katara snapped at him again.

Sokka stuck his tongue out at his sister when she wasn't looking, but was hit with a water whip. He gave a yell, causing Momo to start scurrying all over the saddle. Aang gave a laugh when Momo started pulling Sokka's ponytail, making Sokka furious.

"I'm tired of this! When can we go back to a _normal _life, Katara? The life we had back in the South Pole, where we were supposed to be protecting and helping all the women and children in the village?"

Everyone became silent. Aang looked with sad eyes at Katara, hoping she wasn't going to say a positive answer that would make Sokka happy. Katara had fury in her eyes. She had always wanted to travel around the world rather than being in that stupid ice world she had grown up in. Yes, it was beautiful, but she loved the world she had been seeing for the past several months.

"No. We aren't going back for awhile, Sokka. We have to help Aang! Now, if you would like to go back, we'll drop you off in the ocean and you can swim your way back. Toph, Aang, and I will travel to the North Pole and enjoy defeating the Fire Nation without you!" she turned her back away from her brother, and smiled at Aang.

Aang felt so hopeful when Katara yelled at her brother. Sokka was the eldest of the group, and he always told them where they were going to go. But it was quite the opposite; instead it was Katara who said where they were going and what they would be doing. Aang was happy that Katara took control. In fact, she had said something about her birthday coming up very soon. When they arrived in the North Pole, he was going to buy her the most beautiful necklace, or maybe even a bracelet, since she wore her mother's necklace so much.

"Aang, it's reaching noon," Katara muttered in Aang's ear.

Aang sat up, yawning. The sun was high in the sky, making everyone feel warm. Katara was sitting there, hemming some of Toph's shirts. Toph was sitting there, bending some rocks that she had found in the corner of the saddle. Sokka, on the other hand, was snoring happily away in the front of the saddle, Momo curled on top of his head. Drool was going down Sokka's chin. Katara threw one of the rocks from Toph's hand at him, which went right into his mouth. Sokka sputtered, the rock flying out and landing on the floor. He started yelling, doing his thing like he always did when something went into his mouth that he didn't like. Katara got a sneer smile on her face, bending over her work. Sokka went over to his sister, a defiant look on his face. He held the rock in his hand, throwing it now at his sister. Katara held her hand up, freezing it with the water from the clouds around them. Sokka's mouth fell open, and he sat back down, his face full of anger.

"Freaky magical people," he grunted.

"It isn't magic, it's Waterbending. How many times do I have to tell you that, Sokka?"

"As long as I say it is magic."

Katara rolled her eyes. Typical Sokka on a typical afternoon. Aang went up to Appa's head and sat down, taking hold of the reins. Momo followed him, sitting atop his head as usual. A town came into sight, and the group looked over the sides of the saddles. Toph just lied there, not even getting up. She didn't care about looking over the side of the saddle. She wouldn't be able to see anything, anyways. Katara smiled as she saw the people waving at them.

"I think we've been there before! Let's land and get some food and supplies!"

As if it were exactly what Aang was thinking, he had already told Appa to start going down. The villagers of this small town came running towards them, all laughing and clapping their hands when they saw it was the Avatar. One girl came forward, her hair sticking out to the sides of her head. It was the Fortuneteller's town. Katara gave a weak smile to the girl known as Meng. She told them to follow her, and they all did. Aang shrugged his shoulders when Meng took his hand, pulling him towards the Fortuneteller's house.

"What are you doing, Meng? We don't need another reading!"

"But I want to get a reading!"

"Don't you get plenty of readings?"

Meng stopped in her tracks, and turned, a plot-like smile on her face. Aang pulled his hand away, moving next to Katara and taking her hand instead. Meng got the idea, and mumbled her apologies. She bowed to all of them, and then noticed the addition to the gang.

"Who's this?"

"I'm Toph. You are weird, I can tell."

Sokka gave a grin to Meng, but she ignored him. She was busy wondering why Toph had a cloudy appearance in her eyes. She poked Toph in the shoulders, still looking into her eyes. Nothing happened, except for Toph stomping the ground and causing Meng to give a tiny yelp, moving away from her.

"I'm blind, if that's what you are wondering," Toph grunted.

"How can you Earthbend, and how can you tell I'm weird?"

"Vibrations through the ground help me see."

Everyone followed Meng into Aunt Wu's house, where she greeted them happily. She saw that Katara and Aang were together, and gave them a happy nod. Meng sat down across from the four. Sokka asked if the bean curd puffs were still available, and Meng nodded, getting up to go and get the group some. Aunt Wu looked at Katara, noticing the cuts on her face.

"Hmm…what happened here? I've got some medicine that'll fix all of that up in at least a week or two. Come with me, dear," Aunt Wu waved her hand as she walked, motioning for Katara to follow.

Katara gave a look to Aang, who just gave his innocent smile. Katara gave a tiny laugh and followed, entering Aunt Wu's bedroom. It was lavishly decorated in purple, white, and lavender colors, which Katara fell in love with. Aunt Wu came out of the closet, carrying a box of medical supplies. Katara sat down on a chair, and the fortuneteller started to dab the clear medicine onto Katara's face. She winced as the medicine started to burn into her cuts. Aunt Wu gave a tiny laugh, explaining that it was supposed to hurt, meaning that it was already working. She looked at her hands.

"How did the rest of your arms and face get cut, but your hands are perfectly fine?"

"I used my healing powers on my hands," Katara gave a sigh. "But I don't know how to use them on my arms and face. I'm hoping once I reach the North Pole I'll be able to do so."

"Well, that is nice, dear," Aunt Wu smiled, now putting the medicine on her arms. "You'll be fine soon. Just take this, and put it on nightly. Keep it if you wish. I have plenty!"

"Thank you, Aunt Wu."

"No problem, dear. I'll gladly be help to you whenever you need it. Now, let's go see if that brother of yours ate all the bean curd puffs before the bowl even touched the floor."


	6. A Panda Lily and a Warning

Katara left Aunt Wu's house, taking a bag with her to put all the supplies and food they needed in it. Katara saw a stand full of fruit, vegetables, and bread. She gladly bought plenty of it to last their whole journey, and it didn't even cost that much. She paid in Water Tribe money, which the owner gladly took. Katara smiled when Aang appeared, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"What trouble did you get yourself into now?"

"Oh, nothing really," Aang said, whistling now.

"Did you break something?"

"No."

"Did you blast an airball at someone?"

"Nope."

"Then what did you do?"

Aang gave his innocent smile, and took her hand. Katara gave a laugh as he started to run towards the back of the village, where rarely anyone went except those who lived back here. Katara laughed as Aang stopped, looking around every corner to make sure no one was looking. He gave another smile, and took something from a covered bowl. He held it out to her.

"Oh my! Aang, a Panda Lily!" Katara set the bag down, taking the rare flower from his hands and smelling it. "It is so beautiful! I love it!"

Katara kissed him, blushing as she did so. She wondered why he was acting so weird when they entered the village. He was trying to get up to the volcano and get her a Panda Lily. It was the sign of true love in the village, since the man had to do a dangerous journey up the volcano just to get the flower that grew along the top of the volcano's dormant top. Katara smiled when Aang blushed, looking at the ground. She lifted his chin and smiled softly.

"It is beautiful, thank you. I'm glad you got me this, Aang. It really means something to me," Katara whispered, kissing him again. She then put the flower in her hair, making her seem more beautiful in Aang's eyes.

"It was just a tiny present, nothing special," Aang blushed.

"It is something special to me! No guy has ever tried to get me a flower at the top of a volcano before!" she laughed. "Not a single guy has even had the thought before, but I bet the last time we were here you had the thought, right?"

Aang nodded, but they both turned their head in unison at the sound of a gong. Looking at one another quizzically, Katara picked up the bag and ran after Aang, who was running pretty fast. They headed towards the center of the village, where the villagers usually met. A man was standing under the gazebo that was in the center of the area, holding a scroll in front of him. He held it out to Aunt Wu, who took it with caution.

"What is this?"

"Read it and you'll find out," the man said sternly.

Aunt Wu was silent. She opened the scroll, and as she read it, her eyes began to widen. The whole village was now in the center of the town, whispering among one another as Aunt Wu held the scroll, a hand to her forehead.

"You are just kidding around with me, correct?"

"Does it look like that is a joke to you? The Fire Nation will be here in less than a week to take control of the village. Good day to you all," the man said, leaving the village now.

Aang and Katara gave a look to one another, then looked at Aunt Wu, who was rereading the scroll. She was shaking her head in disbelief. The village had remained safe for a long time, and now the Fire Nation was finally taking control of the village. Aang came forward, holding out his staff in front of him.

"I'll stop the Fire Nation," he proclaimed.

Katara stood next to him, smiling. She also said that she would protect the village, and Toph joined in. Sokka shrugged his shoulders and said he would give it a try. The last time he fought one in a village he lost his boomerang, but it was worth a shot. He saved the village last time from the volcano, so why not save the village from a bunch of Firebenders?

"Stupid idea!" Sokka yelled later that night. "I can't believe I volunteered to protect the village!"

"Oh, shut up, Sokka. The Fire Nation is taking control of every village they want to, but we have to stop it, and you're just sitting there complaining about it! Why don't you do something about it?" Toph yelled at him.

"Okay, I will!" Sokka said, standing up and walking towards the door. He stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Uh, how am I supposed to stop the Fire Nation by myself?"

Everyone looked at him, smacking their foreheads. Sokka really didn't have any common sense, did he? Katara shook her head as her brother came back over, sitting back down on his bed. He stared around the room, thinking of some way to bring down the Fire Nation. Everyone looked at him. They were kidding about him stopping the Fire Nation single-hand, and he knew that was impossible. Only the Avatar could do that by defeating the Fire Lord Ozai.

"Sokka, we were messing with you," Katara said, fixing their dinner at the stove. "Really, now, do you think you could bring the Fire Nation by yourself?"

"I could if I wanted to!" Sokka snapped.

Katara shook her head, mixing together the soup and its spices. Toph walked over, sniffing the air. She smacked her lips. She was hungry alright. She sniffed above the pot, careful to not touch the stove. Katara gave her a tap on the shoulder, and giving a meek smile, Toph scooted away from the stove and sat back down at the table. Aang was busy making something in his room, but no one was allowed to come in for some reason. Only Momo went in with him, and sometimes Aang would let him in and out.

"Aang, dinner is ready," Katara knocked on his door, carrying his bowl and setting it down at the dinner table.

Katara poured more soup into two other bowls and set them before Toph and Sokka, who started to eat as soon as they got it, but stopped when they burnt their tongues, drinking water down fast. Katara gave a chuckle as she sat down, then realized Aang hadn't came out yet. She got back up, and tried to open the door. Rattling the door knob, she shouted his name.

"Aang, dinner is ready! I've made your favorite soup!" Katara yelled, trying to get the door unlocked. "What are you doing in there, anyways?"

Aang sat in the room, the only light coming from a lamp that Momo was curiously examining. Aang was weaving together pieces of thread that he bought in the village marketplace, trying to make a beautiful decoration for Katara's hair. She would love it. He had braided together different colors of blue, and finished the decoration by folding it into a flower. He smiled at his work, looking up when Katara started yelling at the door, rattling the door knob. He hid the hair ornament in his side table drawer, and opened the door.

"Sorry! I was just finishing something up!" he said, shutting the door as soon as Momo left the room.

"Well, as long as you hadn't fallen asleep," Katara said, sitting back down.

Sokka and Toph had already finished their soup and were lying down on the floor, as full as could be. Toph yawned widely, and Sokka fell asleep. Katara slowly ate, taking her time. Aang just sat there, pushing the vegetables around in his soup.

"Are you okay? Is the soup too cold or too hot?" Katara asked, giving him a worried look.

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm fine, actually. I've been thinking about what I should do about the Fire Nation, that's all," Aang answered, looking up and plastering a smile on his face.


	7. Learning Is Giving SelfRespect

Back in Bai Sing Se, a young man with a flamed-shape scar over his right eye ran through the darkness. He had to find out where that man named Jet went off to. The police had taken him away, but this young man had something different in the idea. He expected that his friends were somewhere in the city, and he was going to find them. Hearing some people laughing and walking down the street, the young man hid in an alley way, waiting for them to pass. A couple of men drunk. The typical thing found in the lower ring of Bai Sing Se at night.

The young man was swift, agile, and down right impossible to catch. He had been trained by the Fire Nation, having been born in that culture as well. This young man was named Zuko. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, now known as Lee. He was on the run from the Fire Nation with his Uncle Iroh, who went by Mushi. They were supposed to be Earth Refugees, refraining from Firebending and from revealing who they were. Thanks to Zuko's actions as the Blue Spirit, they were wanted.

Zuko finally got what he needed. Smeller Bee was walking along with Longshot, talking about things he couldn't hear. They stopped walking, looking behind them. Zuko stood in the middle of the street, arms at his sides. He stared at them, not saying a word. He moved forward, causing Smeller Bee to get a funny feeling in her stomach.

"What do you want? Come to cause more trouble?"

"I don't mean any harm," Zuko shook his head, holding his hands up in peace. "Where is Jet?"

"What do you care? He took that thing too seriously. Thinking you and that fat man were Firebenders. You would've been kicked off of the ship if you were. How come you fought Jet? Why didn't you try and tell him the truth?" Smeller Bee started questioning. She wanted answers.

"I fought him because he wouldn't believe the truth! Besides, I had to protect my job! That's the only job my Uncle could find! I don't know why Jet thought we were Firebenders, but you need to get this straight; we are not Firebenders!" Zuko hissed, pulling Smeller Bee up by the collar.

Longshot came forward, giving Zuko a stare. Zuko seemed to understand, setting Smeller Bee back down on her feet. She was short. Zuko gave them a nod, heading back towards his apartment. As soon as he arrived, his uncle was standing outside, waiting for him.

"Where did you go off to?"

"I caught up with a few friends, that's all," Zuko muttered, shoving past him.

"You made friends? I would like to meet them!"

"No, you don't want to," he muttered. "We aren't friends anymore now."

Iroh gave a shake of his head, entering the apartment after his nephew. Zuko seemed to lose friends as soon as he made them. Zuko was more of a loner, though. He enjoyed becoming powerful on his own. The boy seemed to do better by himself as well. Iroh shut the door behind him, heading towards the stove and starting a fire with the spark rocks.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Uncle! We were just working in a tea shop! We go through this every evening!" Zuko sighed, lying back on his bed.

"I know! But you can never be sick of tea!" Iroh smiled.

"Yes, you can," he grumbled, turning his back to his uncle and facing the wall. "I just want to get out of here. Something is weird about this city, and I don't like it."

Iroh gave his nephew a quizzical look, shrugged his shoulders, and started boiling some water over the tiny fire. His nephew just wanted to catch the Avatar before his sister did. It was a difficult task, seeing as the Avatar was going from here to there and all around the place. He had an Earthbending teacher with him as well, and that Waterbending girl was still teaching him new techniques that she learned herself. He was becoming more and more powerful each and every day. Iroh walked over to his nephew, setting a cup of tea on the side table.

"Zuko, you know that you can't run from your problems. I know we are, but this is a different problem. You and I will catch the Avatar, and we will return home as heroes."

"Uncle, I appreciate your concern, but there isn't any chance now. Didn't you notice that flying bison going over two days ago? That was them. They've left Bai Sing Se, and we can't even leave the city. We're prisoners," Zuko murmured.

"Not prisoners, we are just tourists that have a job here! We are merely on a little detour, like you say," Iroh chuckled.

Zuko turned to his Uncle, smiling a little bit. He was right. It was just a tiny detour. The Avatar still had to master Firebending, and there was no chance he could master it without the Fire Nation wanting him. There was still the chance he could find one that was a deserter, but then again, why didn't he just fly on into the Fire Nation and try to get one? He wouldn't put that girl in harm's way. He wouldn't put the other two and that huge bison of his and that silly lemur-like thing in danger either. The Avatar was too protective of everyone that traveled with him.

"See? A detour is a fun little vacation. Remember what Song said, everyone is in this war together. The women and children who have had their husbands and fathers taken away from them are in the war. They protect their villages. Like the Kyoshi Warriors, they are strong," Iroh said, going over to fix himself a cup of tea.

"The Kyoshi Warriors were worthless when I fought them. I defeated them! They ran, cowards. They are just women who shouldn't even fight," Zuko grumbled.

"They fought with diligence, pride, and hopefulness. They wanted to save and protect their culture and heritage. You burnt Kyoshi to the ground, and they rebuilt it. They worked as a family. The Fire Nation is one family, but I doubt you and your sister would agree to that."

"You're right though, we are a family. Everyone in this world is one family; we just are different on the outside and with what we do."

Iroh smiled. His nephew was learning. He was training and teaching his nephew in the perfect setting as well. Zuko needed to learn in poverty. He learned in the reigns of royalty, and now he would learn the same way a poor Firebender would. Iroh sat down on his bed, drinking his tea.

"Uncle, do we have any cards?"

"Cards? What for?"

"I want to play a game. I'm bored," Zuko laughed, Iroh joining in.


	8. Fire Attack

Katara and Aang were playing with the marbles he had with him. Aang used his Airbending to make the marbles spin between his hands. Katara rolled her eyes, but laughed all the same. He did that the first time they met, thinking it was the best trick in the world, but soon he overused it in Kyoshi. Katara smiled as she Waterbended her marbles across the playing board and took several of Aang's. He gave a look of awe as she took the marbles up, smiling devilishly.

"Hey, I'm good, aren't I?" Katara laughed. "Besides, I learned from you."

Aang gave a laugh, and took his turn, but realized that he had nowhere to go. Katara had him surrounded, and he couldn't move his marbles anywhere thanks to that. She gave him another smile, and then stood up, stretching. She noticed the moon was all the way up in the sky now, and told Aang and the rest of them that she was going to head off to bed. Walking into her room, Katara lit the lamp and smiled when she saw Momo curled up on her pillow, sleeping.

"Momo," Katara whispered, moving the sleeping flying lemur. "Sorry, buddy. I had to move you."

Momo perked his ears up, but laid them back against his back again, snoring away. Katara covered herself up with the blanket, looking out the window next to the bed. It was beautiful outside in the sky. Usually they would be camping out, but she was used to sleeping inside as well. She would enjoy this for a little bit until the Fire Nation arrived and then they would have to leave afterwards. Toph came in an hour later, seeing a sleeping Katara with a smile on her face. Hopefully she wouldn't start freaking out again and leaving her to take care of it all.

"Good night, Katara," muttered Toph, feeling her way around the room since it was so dark. She finally found her own bed, and plopped into it, snoring away like Momo, only a bit louder.

Aang sat in his bedroom, holding the hair ornament he made for Katara. Hopefully she would love it. Her fifteenth birthday. That meant Aang would be turning thirteen in a few months as well. Katara had been excited about her fifteenth birthday just a week before, thinking of what would happen and what everyone would try to get her. Sokka had tried to calm her down, saying that surely Appa would be the best gift. That had caused him to get a punch in the face from Toph, and a smack in the back of the head from Katara. Aang gave a deep sigh, looking out the window, still holding the hair ornament. The colors blended so well together, like Katara's eyes. They were an ocean of blues. So different in each shade, but you could see the beauty in them.

Morning soon came, causing the villagers to wake up and being their usual morning routines. But back where the group was staying, everyone was still sleeping. Except for Momo, that is. He was bouncing up and down on Katara's bed now, making noises beyond belief. Katara groggily sat up, looking at the lemur that seemed to be on a sugar high. She looked at the water basin next to her, brought some of it up, and splashed it onto Momo, who gave a shrill cry and flew out of the room. She then splashed some lightly on her face. Toph had woken up at the sound of Momo's cry, and had turned her head towards Katara's. She gave a smile, and a quick good morning. Katara said good morning as well, braiding her hair and then putting her usual hair loops to the side of her face. She then ran out of the room to get breakfast going, and tripped over Sokka, who was snoring on the floor.

"Sokka! Wake up!" Katara yelled in his ear. No luck. She gave a sneer smile, and then picked up a basket of pastries that she had made the night before. "Look, cranberry."

Sokka's nose started to wriggle as he sniffed the air. He loved pastries. His eyes popped open, and he snatched the basket from Katara. She looked at him in disgust as the inside of the pastries started to roll down his chin. Boys really needed to work on their manners. Luckily Aang wasn't like that. Only if he was truly hungry, which thankfully, he usually wasn't. Aang came out just at this thought, rubbing his eyes so he would wake up.

"What was the scream?"

"Scream? Oh, Momo! I splashed water on him because he was acting as though he were drinking cactus juice again," Katara laughed, cracking some eggs and pouring them onto a pan.

Aang sat down at the table next to Toph, who started talking. She was starting to become quiet the chatterbox in the past few days. She went on and on about how she seemed to like this town, and how that Meng girl sort of freaked her out.

"She freaked us out when we first met her," Sokka commented from the floor, where he was still in his sleeping bag where he was eating.

"Sokka, get out of the sleeping bag and eat at the table!" Katara yelled, Sokka immediately obeying her.

Toph shook her head, and felt Momo land on her head. She reached up, giving him a scratch underneath the chin. Katara placed her breakfast in front of her and Momo gave a tiny growl. Toph broke off a piece of bread and lifted it up to Momo, who snatched it and started to eat away on Toph's shoulders now. Toph felt around for her fork, which she finally found and ate her breakfast quickly, saying she found a boy in the city who wanted to do a competition by Earthbending.

"Can I come?" Aang asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, you are still learning, so you can learn a few things from me as well!" Toph laughed, giving Aang a wink. "Besides, this guy is a loser. I'm sure I'll beat him. He was laughing when he was walking away, but it was a nervous laugh. Apparently they've heard of 'The Blind Bandit' around here."

"What Earth town hasn't?" Katara asked.

"Bai Sing Se."

"That's a city. They're exempt from that category," Sokka grumbled as soon as he finished his pastries. "Besides, when was the last time you heard something about Earthbending at that city?"

"Obviously the city is based on Earthbending. Why would the Earth King be there?" Toph said, laughing. "Gotcha there, didn't I?"

Katara, with a nod of her head, opened the door as she heard a knock. She looked down to see Meng, standing before her with hope in her eyes. Katara gave an inwardly sigh, and allowed her in. Meng gave a wave and a blush to Aang, a look at Sokka, and a smile to Toph. Katara she didn't say or do anything to, and walked over, taking Katara's spot next to Aang. Katara was fuming. This girl had the right to barge into their place where they were staying and take her place next to her boyfriend? No, this wasn't how it was going to go. She sat down next to Toph, leaning over and whispering in her ear. Toph had a huge grin on her face as she finished.

Toph nodded, whistling as she went back to her room. Sokka looked from her to his sister, knowing something was going on. Toph made a fighting stance, and bended around Meng's chair.

"Ah!" Meng cried, falling out of her chair as it was tilted.

Toph said oops, that she didn't mean to make rocks come up from right under her so she could fall out of her chair. Sniggering, she went over to Katara, who held her hand out behind her and gave her a high five. Success was in their reach. Katara got up and helped Meng up, as Aang was too busy laughing, and Sokka was too busy acting confused.

"Sorry again, Meng. I don't know how Toph didn't realize you weren't there. She probably thought you had left already," Katara said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Here, I'll make you a plate of food."

"Oh, no, that won't be necessary! I just came here to ask Aang if he would like to walk up the volcano with me later on today," Meng turned to Aang, battering her eyes as if she were flirting.

"Sorry, I can't," Aang answered.

Katara felt a surge of triumph flow through her body. Meng left the house with a sad look on her face, but Aang ignored it. She had told him the last time they came around that it was alright that he liked Katara, and understood that they weren't meant to be together. Katara smiled at Aang as she finally got to sit down in peace and eat her breakfast. Sokka was still looking confused, and finally spoke out.

"What was that about?"

Katara, Toph, and Aang burst out with laughter. Sokka truly didn't have any common sense, did he? Katara started to explain every last detail to the confused guy, who nodded his head as he brought in all the details, sorting them through.

"Oh, yeah, she's a creep," Sokka nodded in agreement, stretching. "I'm going outside to sharpen my boomerang. Anyone want to come out with me?"

"Actually, I was going out to the river to practice my Waterbending, since I never got the chance to do so in Bai Sing Se."

"You seriously want to go there after your nightmare?" Sokka asked with wide eyes.

"Would you shut up?" Toph threw her fork at him, missing his left ear by a centimeter. "Close one too. I could've hit you so well."

"I can take care of myself. It was just a nightmare. I think I ate a few bad berries, that's all," Katara said, shrugging her shoulders. "And I highly doubt Aang will let me fall down a waterfall. Besides, there aren't any around here!"

Sokka nodded, turning towards Toph, and threw his fork at her. She dodged it with ease, grinning widely. She stuck her tongue out, hopped off her chair and left the house with Aang, still talking about the guy she was going to battle by Earthbending. Aang was listening intently, ready to learn more Earthbending. Katara had already left, leaving Sokka and Momo sitting at the table. They stared at one another for a second.

"What are you looking at?" Sokka asked.

Momo's reply was just a few low growls and squeaks. Momo jumped off the table and went outside, probably following Katara. Sokka sighed. Everyone had something to do, and he didn't. He rolled his eyes, grabbed his boomerang and ran out of the house towards the edge of the forest, where there was enough shade away from the hot sun. With a look at a girl that was walking past him, Sokka started to sharpen his boomerang, not noticing that the girl had went into the forest and was watching him.

Katara took off her normal clothes and revealed her bathing suit. She let her braids out, her curly, thick brown hair going about three inches below her shoulders. Her ocean blue eyes shimmered with excitement when she saw how deep the water went. Practically up to her neck. She jumped in, giving a yell of joy, and a huge splash covered the shore. Being a Waterbender, her splashes were usually a bit larger than a normal person's jump into the water. Katara surfaced, flipping her hair behind her. She smiled since the water was so cool. She floated around for a little bit, unaware that she was being watched as well.

"Aang, watch how I beat this creep," Toph began before the boy showed up. "First, tell me what my number one rule is."

"Never put your whole into an opponent. Always hit a series of points, then, when he's reeling back, give the final blow," Aang repeated as though he knew it his whole life.

"Good, you remembered."

"How could I forget? I'm supposed to remember these things and you remind me every day to recite it to you!"

Toph gave a chuckle when the boy showed up, shaking a little bit. He had gotten himself into this, and he was going to see who he was messing with. Toph took a fighting stance, Aang sitting on a rock, elbow on his knee and chin in his hand. He yawned as the boy tried to kick a rock at her, but only a bunch of dust kicked up.

"Is that truly the best you can do?" Toph started to batter her opponent with taunts.

Toph shifted her feet, trying to decide where the boy was. She closed her eyes, putting her hands together as though she were praying, and pulled them apart, causing a the land in front of her and the boy to split. Rocks started flying up and went towards the boy. The boy gave a yell, ducking as the rocks flew over him. Toph stopped them, pushing the land back together and making it appear as though it hadn't even been touched.

"Why didn't you block the rocks instead of ducking? That is poor tactic and fighting. You see, you need to show your opponent you aren't afraid just because they have an advantage over you," Toph began, walking towards the boy. "Just because I can feel your move before it even arises out of the ground, doesn't mean that I'll dodge it. Just because I am blind doesn't mean I can't lose. I win some fights that I do, and I lose other fights."

Aang looked at Toph with pride. He was glad that she was his teacher. She was taught by someone who was great, but he didn't know anything. She learned many of these things on her own. Toph bowed to the boy, who ran home as soon as she finished her speech. Aang smiled, floating down from the rock in front of Toph. They started to chatter away about fighting stances and tactics, being watch just like Katara and Sokka.

Katara started to waterbend back at the river, forming huge balls of water and throwing them at the small cliff that was next to the river. She was practicing fighting in the river as well, since she was so used to fighting on the ground. She had to get used to being stuck in the water and be able to fight. A rustling sound disturbed Katara and she turned, water whip ready.

"Who's there?" Katara called out, scanning the shore and the bushes nearby.

Katara shrugged her shoulders, the water whip falling back into the river. She started to wave her arms in intricate movements, causing the water to flow around her. She felt as though she were weightless. She turned again as another sound soared through the air, this time it was the sound of a knife flying through the air. Katara formed a shield of ice on time, giving a scream as more came towards her. She looked from behind the shield, realizing that Mai, an accomplice of Princess Azula, Zuko's sister. Katara started throwing daggers of ice at her, which the girl dodged easily, throwing more weapons at Katara.

"What are you doing here?" Katara yelled out.

"It isn't any of your business!" Mai laughed, this time throwing spikes at Katara.

Back by the forest, Sokka was slowly beginning to become bored with sharpening his boomerang. Sokka felt as though he were being watched finally, and looked up at the tree branches above him. There sat Ty Lee, another accomplice of Princess Azula. Sokka threw his boomerang at her, glad he just sharpened it. Ty Lee jumped away from the boomerang, landing behind Sokka. He turned just on time before she could hit the middle of his back, where she could stop him from moving temporarily. Sokka started to raise his arms, blocking all her blows. She gave a yell, kicking him against the tree.

"Get away from me!" Sokka roared, and just on time, his boomerang came flying back, hitting Ty Lee square in the chest.

Ty Lee went flying backwards with a loud screech, falling to the ground and feeling pain flow through her upper body. She realized that his boomerang had cut her arm wide open, and she was bleeding dangerously. She gave a yell, running forward again and started to punch Sokka. He dodged every blow, having been taught by Suki. He put his leg out and swiped it under her legs, causing her to fall. Sokka smiled as he took a rope out of his bag and tied her hands and feet together.

"You won't be able to get anywhere like this," Sokka smiled. "Hopefully you'll understand that you don't mess with me and my friends."

Toph felt vibrations coming from all directions. She held a hand up to stop Aang from talking. He listened intently, waiting for her to talk and to hear something that didn't sound right. He heard a loud scream come from the river that sounded oddly like Katara's. He heard Sokka yelling words to someone. Giving a look to Toph, she nodded, then broke the large rock that was only about thirty or forty feet away from then. Princess Azula came flying out from behind it, shooting blue flames at the two benders.

"I have you now, Avatar," Azula smiled evilly, starting to shoot lightning as well.

Aang used his staff to throw a huge gust of wind at Azula, who went flying backwards just like Ty Lee. Toph started to throw rocks, dirt, and boulders at the princess, who couldn't dodge all at once. She was covered in a huge pile of the things that Toph tossed at her. Toph told Aang to go and get Katara, that she would hold off Azula in case she found her way out. Aang nodded, starting to run and then formed an airball that he jumped on, heading towards the river and trying to find out where Katara was at. It wasn't that difficult of a task. Mai had made a trail in the bushes, giving off where she had been heading to.

Katara smiled when she saw Aang appearing. She gave one last shot at Mai, throwing as much ice as she could towards her. It was hopeless. Mai dodged that as well, and instead threw more daggers at Katara. One of the daggers went right past Katara's cheek, forming a deep cut. Katara filled with anger. She started flailing her arms about, making huge waves. Mai took a step back, fear flowing through her body. She had never seen a Waterbender become so angry before. Katara forced all the water at the Fire Nation girl, Aang jumping into the river to escape the waves. Katara was breathing heavily as the water receded from the shore, showing Mai on the ground, drenched and passed out. Katara didn't smile in victory, she just stood there in the water, her hair soaked. She was mad. She wiped the blood off of her cheek, and water covering her hands, she healed the cut with a simple skill she learned on her own. She didn't want to be hurt anymore by the Fire Nation.

"Katara, are you alright? Azula is here as well, Toph's taking care of her at the moment," Aang said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. Why are you breathing so hard?"

"I just used up half of my strength trying to defeat this brat!"

Aang walked out of the river, checking Mai's pulse. She was still alive. He checked the long sleeves she had that carried all her weapons. There were barely any left. He took out the last of them, throwing them into the river after Katara climbed out, bending all the water out of her hair. She braided it quickly, then dressed. She looked at Mai as she started to stir. Aang took her hand and pulled Katara towards the village, where they saw Sokka dragging Ty Lee behind him, anger in his eyes.

"You were ambushed too?" Katara asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I should've known that was Ty Lee who walked right past me," Sokka grumbled.

"Where's Toph?"

"Probably still back there fighting Azula. Let's go help her," Aang said, leading the other two towards Toph.

Aang was right. Toph was dodging every lightning bolt and flame that Azula tried to send her way. She was also throwing as many rocks and boulders as she could. She was unsuccessful as Azula kept dodging those as well. It was a lose-lose battle between both of them. They were on the same level in fighting, just they couldn't hit one another. Katara snuck up behind Azula, taking water out of the canteen and hitting the princess right in the back. Azula fell forwards, eyes closing. Katara had hit the right spot. Aang looked at Sokka, who tied her up, this time with a different and stronger rope that wasn't like Ty Lee's. Katara went over to Toph, who was breathing heavily and sweating. She sat down on the ground, Katara sitting down with her.

"I couldn't hold her off any longer. I'm glad you guys came. She's one tough Firebender," Toph muttered, wiping her forehead. "She even shoots lightning."

Katara looked at Toph in disbelief. She hadn't exactly seen Azula shoot lightning out of her hands. It must have meant that she was highly advanced in her training. But wasn't Azula just Katara's age? Fifteen, sixteen? Maybe fourteen? Aang shook his head, knowing that she was able to bend lightning. It was a rarity, but Aang wasn't going to even attempt it. He could die if he tried to do that. He wasn't going to leave Katara and the other two alone in the world if he tried to attempt that.

"Aang, we should go warn the villagers about these three. We'll have to get the other Earthbenders together to help us keep a watch," Katara explained, helping Toph up and walking towards the other two. "Besides, I doubt they'll stay here if we leave. So tonight, we're going."

"But Katara, we'll disappoint all these people! The Fire Nation is coming to control the town!" Aang complained.

"No, these three were the Fire Nation to come and control the town. They somehow knew we were coming. We need to pack up our supplies and go," Katara paused, looking into her brother's eyes. "Now."


	9. Secrets Revealed

Zuko sat in the tea shop, arms crossed. He was tired of serving jasmine tea to the women, ginseng tea to all the soldiers and guards that came flowing in, and rose tea to all the other people. It was the same thing over and over. His Uncle was just minding his own business and serving and making the tea nonstop. Zuko sighed when he had to go and collect the dishes from the table where a group of men and women had just left. His Uncle smiled at him as he walked past, filling up another cup of tea.

"Lee, Mushi, you can take your break now," said the owner of the tea shop.

Zuko sighed, taking off the apron and heading to the back of the shop. He went out the backdoor to get some fresh air from the smell of different types of teas. His Uncle Iroh followed him, smiling. He told Zuko that now would be a good time to start practicing. Zuko gave him a look of concern. There were people sitting in the back of the other shops where they worked at. Zuko shook his head. He didn't want to Firebend at the moment. He was actually very tired from working.

"Lee, this is the perfect chance. You can finally learn that one thing," Iroh said slowly.

"Uncle, I can't. You know what could happen," Zuko muttered, head in his hands. "This really isn't the place to do it. I mean, why couldn't we have went to another refugee camp where the security was just a bit low key? And where it wasn't as crowded?"

"Lee, understand what I am trying to say. Your sister will conquer you if you don't practice!"

"Uncle, no. I'm not going to blow our cover," Zuko hissed quietly. "I don't want to ruin our lives so far."

Zuko went back into the tea shop, reaching for his apron once he entered the kitchen. Tying it back on, he entered the main room, where a lot of people had left and he needed to get all the cups up off of the tables. He sighed, reaching for a tray and heading towards the first table that he was near. The tea shop owner came over and looked at him with worry.

"Lee is something wrong?" he asked, putting a hand on his employee's shoulder.

"Yeah, a lot of things have been wrong lately," Zuko muttered, heading towards the next table. "Money is tight, I need to learn bending, and there's nowhere to do that in this city. I want to go home, but I can't because I'll be kicked out yet again. My sister is coming after me for some idiotic reason, and a whole lot of other things are going on."

"Lee, if I had known, I would have helped you and your Uncle."

"It's not just my Uncle. It is mainly myself. I'm causing a lot of the trouble," he said, most of it to himself.

"Don't put it all on yourself, Lee. That's what causes a man to crumble under pressure," the shop owner paused. "I was once a bender myself, but quit to follow the family business. I was a…Firebender. I didn't really believe in what the Fire Nation was doing, but I forced myself to forget all the things I learned as a child."

Zuko looked at him with wide eyes. So he was a Firebender. What if he remembered everything he had learned and just didn't use it? Maybe he could teach him! Zuko noticed that the shop was completely empty, the doors were closed. No one was around. They were good to go. He took a deep breath, and turned to the tea shop owner.

"I'm a Firebender myself."

"I know. You're Prince Zuko. No one can deny the fact with that scar, Prince. I'm surprised you are running from your own family," he chuckled.

Zuko nodded his head. He didn't know why he was running from his family either. It was such a hard task. But he understood why he was running from his sister. Azula wanted him dead just so she could ascend the throne after their father died. Zuko wasn't going to allow this to happen. For centuries it had been men that had lead the Fire Nation, and he wasn't about to let that change just because of his sister's ambitions.

"I'm ashamed at myself, really. I'm supposed to be out there helping my nation, but they all want me dead because of how stupid I am," Zuko put his head in his hands, dropping the tray on the floor as he did so. "I'm so sorry!"

Zuko knelt down to start cleaning up the broken china. He had done this so much in the past few days that it was unreal. The tea shop owner told him to stop, to sit down and listen to him. Zuko did as he was told, but couldn't ignore the fact that he had just messed up again.

"Zuko, I can help you. I know some underground passages below my shop that lead to an area where Earthbenders, Waterbenders, and a few Firebenders meet up and practice. I bring the water for the Waterbenders each night," the tea shop owner looked at the door again. "Meet me here at midnight. I'll be ready to teach you. Bring Mushi if you wish to. What is his real name, actually?"

"His real name is Iroh. General Iroh."

"Ah, your uncle. Well, I'll see you tonight, Lee. Now, clean up this mess or I'll have to take away your raise," the shop owner laughed, raising his hands at the look on Zuko's face. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Just clean it up and then I'll get the spares out of the back to set up on the tables!"


	10. Remembered and Forgotten

Katara explained to Aunt Wu why they were leaving. They wanted to get the three Fire Nation girls away from the village before more destruction came upon it. She understood, telling them that if they needed to, they should take as much food as they could. Katara offered to pay, but Aunt Wu shook her head.

"No, dear, you need the food. The trip to the North Pole is a hard one," Aunt Wu laughed nervously. "Now, hurry and gather that food, then take off. I don't want you four to get hurt. Aang, take care of these girls. They'll need it. You too, Sokka. I know you'll do anything to protect your sister."

Aang nodded, running out to help Katara with all the food. Many of the vendors protested against Aunt Wu's suggestions, but she told them that it was the Avatar, that they had to respect that. Finally, saddle full of food, Appa was ready to go. Toph was sitting in the saddle as well, looking a bit irked. She didn't want to leave such a wonderful town. She said she was going to come back here and teach the Earthbending kids.

"Although that one guy, he's pretty much at the point of uselessness."

"Toph! That was so mean!" Katara complained.

Katara shook her head. Aang gave a laugh, knowing Toph didn't really mean it. She was really just messing around with all of them, not really meaning anything at all. Toph reached for an apple, but Katara smacked her hand away, yelling that all the food had to be saved. There was no sense in eating something while in flight, because that would just make Appa hungry and they would have to land.

"We want to get to the North Pole soon," she explained. "I'm sure they want to know how to defeat the Fire Nation. Although they were brought down before, they'll be stronger during a solar eclipse. I know I will be."

Katara gave a proud smile. She loved the fact that during any full moon she was at her strongest. Aang was also at his strongest, but that was only with his Waterbending. His other gifts didn't really have a point where they were strong, except when he was in the Avatar State. Sokka snored, taking Katara out of her train of thought. She looked at him, shaking her head in disgust. He was so gross. Why couldn't he be more like Aang? Sensible, polite, and not the least bit disgusting. She rolled her eyes, knowing that would never happen. She turned to Aang, who had floated to the back of the saddle to sit with Toph and chat away with her. Toph didn't seem like she wanted to talk at the moment, so Aang went to sit next to Katara, who was hidden by large, woven baskets. He smiled at her, holding out something that was wrapped. She gave him a quizzical look, taking it out of his hands.

"Happy Birthday!"

Katara's eyes widened when he said that. She had completely forgotten that her fifteenth birthday was in three days! She gave him a kiss on the cheek, opening her gift. She gave a gasp when she saw that it was a hair ornament. She put it right above her braid, where everyone would be able to see it. She asked Aang how it looked, and he said that it was lovely, mixing with her eyes perfectly.

"Aang, this is so wonderful! This is the best gift I have ever gotten for my birthday!" Katara kissed him passionately on the lips.

Aang fell into the kiss, closing his eyes slowly. Sokka snorted in his sleep, but they didn't pull apart. Toph somehow knew what was going on, and coughed. That was what pulled the two apart. Katara gave Toph such an evil glare. Could she not accept the fact that she loved Aang and wanted to be left alone with him without having anyone interrupt them? Sokka shot up from his sleep, asking what was going on. Toph gave a tiny laugh, then closed her eyes. She focused on trying to get to sleep, since the day had been full of action. Sokka looked at his sister with the strange blue flower-like thing in her hair. He took it out, studying it even further.

"Hey!" Katara snatched it back from him, holding it out to Aang so he could help her put it back in her hair. "Aang made this for my birthday. At least he is more considerate and remembers things!"

"I forgot it was your birthday because I was too busy trying to get out of that town alive!"

"I've been talking about my birthday for weeks on end now! I told you I wanted something special!"

"Katara, I didn't truly mean to forget it! I've been busy trying to keep all of us alive!" Sokka said.

"No, you've been too busy ignoring the rest of us! I can't believe you totally forgot my fifteenth birthday!"

Sokka put his face in his hands. He had really messed up this time around. He had forgotten his sister's past four birthdays. Ever since the war hit the Southern War Tribe when he was twelve, he had completely forgotten about his sister's birthdays. He looked at his sister one more time, and pleaded with her that he would get her something truly special this time.

"No, forget it! I'm sure you will anyways!" Katara turned her back to him, and looked at Aang, taking his hands in hers. "Thank you so much, Aang. This means the world to me. I haven't gotten a present for my birthday since I was nine. Since my mother was alive."

Aang smiled. He was glad he made Katara's special day extremely special. He had made her highly excited about getting to the North Pole to truly celebrate her birthday. But it would be awhile before they could even get the chance to have a party for Katara. They would have to talk to the Northern Water Tribe about the solar eclipse, about the secret of Bai Sing Se, and so many other things. They would have more important things to do than Katara's fifteenth birthday. But Aang would make sure that she had a birthday party, just for her. He was going to get her another gift. This time it would be even better than the hair ornament he had made. It was going to be a bracelet from the Northern Water Tribe, handcrafted. He was going to make sure that she was going to have the greatest time on one of her most important days.

"Aang, Appa seems tired," Toph muttered.

"What? No, he isn't tired, Toph. He's fine," Aang went to check Appa, who roared in liveliness. He was perfectly fine. "See, I told you!"

"Then who's tired?"

"Probably Sokka," Katara muttered. "Oh, look, I was right. He's sleeping."

Everyone turned to Sokka, who was curled up in his parka. He hadn't taken that out in ages. Neither he nor Katara had. She looked for hers. She found it and put it on, realizing it was too small for her. She gave a mumble, thinking about hemming it to make it wider, but Aang told her that once they reached the North Pole they would get her a new one.

"Thanks, Aang. We'll have to buy Toph one as well. I doubt she's used to the cold weather of the North Pole."

"Nope, I'm not. So I guess I'll need shoes as well, huh?"

"Oh yeah, the whole city is made of ice."

"Great…" Toph muttered sarcastically.


	11. An Alliance

Zuko entered the tea shop cautiously. He didn't know if it was a trap or not, although he was getting his hopes up a bit, but he still had to keep watch on what was going on around him. The tea shop owner, named Bom, motioned him to an area of the shop that Zuko wasn't even allowed at. It was the stove where his Uncle made the tea daily. Bom shoved the stove over and there was a trapdoor, right below it. Zuko looked at Bom with wide eyes, bent down to open the door, and jumped down. It was completely dark, musty, and damp. Bom jumped down after him, smiling.

"Follow me."

Zuko nodded, closing the trapdoor behind him. He wanted to bend so badly, yet he hadn't for so long. Tonight he decided to not tell his Uncle where he was going. He wanted to make sure it wasn't some sort of trick. If it was, he didn't want him to be caught up in it. Zuko's eyes widened even more when they arrived in a huge room, where three girls with burns on their arms sat, talking among themselves. A young man sat in the corner, his hat over his eyes. He lifted his head slightly when he saw Zuko enter. Another girl with a white moon on her right cheek, blue waves on her left, looked Zuko up and down, seemingly trying to figure out what his bending gift was.

"Everyone, this is Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. He is pretending to be an Earth Refugee so he and his Uncle can get away from things he might not wish to reveal just yet," Bom explained, telling Zuko to sit down in a chair at a lonely table. "He is a Firebender, obviously. Celeste, you will show Zuko respect. I know how you get when I have new recruits."

The girl with the Northern Water Tribe insignias on her cheeks looked at Bom with a blank face, but in her eyes was anger. Apparently she wanted to take down Zuko. She gave him an evil glare, mouthing the words 'I hate you' to Zuko. He gave a shocked look, wondering what he had done to her. He actually had never seen her before in his life. But her name was beautiful. Celeste. Like celestial, as in the stars and heavens above. That was what the Waterbenders looked up towards.

"Zuko, these three girls are refugees from a Fire Nation town in your country. They were orphans at the age of ten, and are now your age. This one here is Fiora, a very powerful Firebender. She received this burn when she was fourteen, from a Fire Nation soldier on her way here. Yuna here was burnt in an attack at the age of six, but was hurt on her leg as well when she was ten. She doesn't show that one off anymore," Bom put his hand on the shoulders of the girl with jet black hair that was in a long ponytail, with a crown in the shape of a flame at the top of it. She had this look in her eye that meant she was still frightened about this whole idea. "Zulu has been here for seven years, the longest of them all. She escaped that attack with her mother, who died about two years ago of an illness. She is very strong. I wouldn't underestimate her."

Zulu gave a nod to Zuko. She still respected the royalty of her homeland. Bom walked over to the young man in the corner, who stood up, taking his hat off and bowing to Bom. He gave a smile to the young man, and bowed back.

"This is Haku. He's an Earthbender. Pretty strong as well. He escaped Kyoshi a few years back with his parents. He's seventeen. He keeps to himself a lot, but I'm sure you and him will click. He's been through a lot," Bom clapped the boy on the shoulder, who nodded.

Zuko smiled at him. Maybe they would get to know one another better. But he couldn't seem to figure out why Celeste was still looking at him curiously. He kept ignoring her, but she kept urging him on by giving him a death-like stare. Finally, Bom said it was time for Celeste to start her practicing.

"Tonight it's for her. I want everyone to give her your fullest attention," Bom smiled at Celeste. "She's worked hard for years, and is finally going to show you her most powerful attack."

Celeste moved forward, blowing a strand of dark brown hair out of her blue eyes. She focused all her attention on the pool of water in the center of the room. Zuko watched intently. He hadn't seen anyone but that girl the Avatar pulled around with him Waterbend. He wanted to see this girl do her gift. Celeste gave a high kick, bringing the water up as she did so. She then twirled it about her body, forming a tornado-like feeling in the room. She froze the rest of the water in the pool, and all of a sudden, the water tornado dispersed. It went all over the room, but no one was wet. Zuko was confused. How did she do that?

"Well done, Celeste."

"Thanks," muttered the girl, heading back to her corner.

"Celeste, we wanted you to do some more, but is that all you wish to show us?"  
"Yep."

"Well, then, Zuko, I think you should show us what you can do. Introduce yourself through your bending."

Zuko stood up, taking a deep breath. He would use his breath of fire that saved his life many times in the North Pole. He focused on his inner flame like his Uncle Iroh always taught him and catching everyone on surprise, the flames came flying out of his mouth. The Firebending girls gave a squeal, clapping wildly. They were only used to doing flames out of their hands. Haku clapped quietly, in awe of what he was seeing. Zuko stopped allowing flames out of his mouth, gasping for air. He hadn't used it in such a long time it was unreal.

"Good job, Zuko. That was amazing, and you are quiet powerful!" Bom clapped, motioning him to sit down. "Zulu, would you like to display your Fire Dancing?"

"Yes please!" Zulu said, standing up.

Zuko noticed that her gown wasn't normal. It wasn't that of a refugee. She must've made it herself. It was of orange silk, showing the insignia of the Fire Nation. She must've only worn it for these meetings. It was beautiful, and then Zuko noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes, yet red bands were around her ankles. So that was what a Fire Dancer looked like.

Zulu went into a split, bending herself all the way back and her head touched her heel. Zuko's eyes widened as flames started to encircle her. She twirled herself up by the flames, not a single flame burning her. She swept the flames up by the palm of her hand, then tossed them all around her. She spun on one foot as the flames jumped around her. She did flips and cartwheels, causing her friends to give screams as the flames were so near to burning her dress. But apparently Zulu was skilled in her art. Finally, she did a mid-air somersault, causing Celeste to become rigid. She wasn't used to this. She had seen Zulu do her art before, but this was something new. Zulu landed perfectly on one hand, and then went back into a split, this time stretching her upper body forward.

Zuko stood up, clapping wildly. Everyone whistled, especially Haku. He loved Zulu, obviously. Zuko was falling madly in love with this girl. She was gifted, alright. Fire Dancing was a most difficult art to do and she had accomplished it. As Zulu walked past Zuko, her hair gently went against his face, and he smelled a beautiful scent. Sulfur. He loved that smell. It was so wonderful, and it always reminded him of home. She gave a wink to him, the orange specks in her brown eyes sparkling.

"Nice to meet you, Zuko," she muttered.

"Nice to meet you, too, Zulu," Zuko sighed to himself.

Bom gave a silent laugh to himself, noticing how Zulu was yet again entrancing another young man. Hopefully this time her gift would get her somewhere with Zuko. He seemed like a wonderful young man. Fiora gave her friend a high five, then stood up herself.

"I do something that is way more unique," she stated, looking at Zuko and blushing. "My mother did this when she was in your grandfather's court as a fifteen-year-old, Zuko."

"When was that?"

"Only twenty five years ago!" Fiora smiled at him. "I learned it from her when I was nine, a year before she was killed. Now, I'm a master."

Zuko didn't know what gift she was talking about. He thought the only gift a true Firebending woman did was what Zulu had just done. He was caught by surprise when Fiora started to twist in flames. They were going all around her. Zuko realized what she was talking about. Body Heat. It was an even more difficult power to learn than Fire Dancing. Fiora's body heat controlled the air around her, causing the air to catch on fire. Zuko was in more awe than with Zulu, but Fiora soon became dull as she just spun around in circles. Yes, it was entertaining, but being a first-timer, Zuko was bored with it.

"Fiora, you've gotten much better. I'm proud of you!" Bom gave her a hug. He must have been a father figure to her. "Now, Yuna, do you have something to show us?"  
"It is just fighting, really. I'll need someone to fight against. My friends aren't quite the fighting type, so I'll call Zuko to be my opponent," Yuna gave a glare. She had green eyes. That was unusual for a Firebender.

"You're on!" Zuko said, smiling.

Yuna stood up, and he noticed she was wearing a uniform similar to his sister's. It was what the women wore if they wished to be a warrior. Her hair was short though, different than her friends' hairstyles. She also had a bit of red around her eyes, like paint or something. She was very supportive of the Fire Nation. Zuko went into a fighting stance as Yuna turned away from him, heating her hands up with flames that were a dark shade of red. She suddenly turned around, kicking the flames at Zuko, who immediately kicked them back.

Everyone was tense. They hadn't remembered the last time they had fought against another Firebender, besides Bom. He felt so exhilarated that he could let out all of his powers and allow himself to be free again. Yuna laughed as she finished up the short fight. Everyone gave a sigh of relief when Zuko sat back down, smiling still.


	12. Sorrowful Memories

Katara felt as though something was wrong. She sat up in her sleep, Aang by her side. He was sleeping peacefully, a smile on his face as always. She turned to Toph, who was snoring yet again. Finally, she looked at Sokka. What was going on with him? He had been sleeping for hours on end. His fight with Ty Lee must have been very harsh if he was sleeping this long. Usually he slept eight to ten hours, but it had been more like thirteen now. Aang gave a yawn, and Katara hoped she hadn't woken him up. He turned over, his back towards her, and fell right back to sleep. Katara moved to the other side of the saddle where it was more open and she could focus on thinking.

The stars were out and so was the full moon. She gave a smile as she looked up at it, thinking of her mother. She put a hand to the necklace that was always around her neck, passed from her grandmother, to her mother, and now it belonged to Katara. It was a family heirloom, and when Katara had a daughter, she would pass it on to her. The necklace was actually an engagement necklace given to Katara's grandmother before she went with her family to the South Pole. It was a great honor to be wearing something so important to her grandmother. Katara heard her name, and she turned, smiling at Aang.

"Thinking about your mother again?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, I was. It is so hard to think that she was killed by the Fire Nation so long ago, yet it seems like it was just a second ago she died right in front of me," Katara whispered.

Aang put an arm around her. She really did miss her mother. Aang hadn't seen his parents since he was three. He hadn't even been able to say good-bye to his mother. His father just took him to the Monk's Temple one day and he never saw them again. Aang would someday meet his parents again, and this time it would be forever. He would introduce them to Katara, and show how much he loved and cared for her.

"Aang, do you know what your parents looked like?"

Aang looked into Katara's eyes. There were tears slowly falling down her cheeks. She wanted to know about his parents? But he barely remembered them. He had always thought his mother was a beautiful Airbender, and his father was an Airbender as well. He gave a soft smile, looking up at the moon as he thought.

"I remember a little bit about my mother," Aang took a deep breath. "I think she was an Airbender, but she had this beautiful, long hair. It was as black as night, and it always shimmered in the light. She wore similar clothes to mine, but her dress was long, covering her feet. She always looked happy, but somehow she had this sad look in her eyes."

"Like she knew that you were the Avatar," Katara muttered.

"Yeah, I think she did know. A mother knows things like that, I bet," he gave a soft laugh. "My father is even harder to remember, although he was the last of the two I saw before I was taken to the monks. He was tall, and he had the arrows on his hands. But he wasn't bald like me. He had black hair too."

Katara leaned her head against Aang's chest, making him swell with happiness. She closed her eyes, more tears flowing out. She was crying, but Aang didn't know why. Was it something he had said about his parents that made her think of her own?

"Are you alright?"

"I would have loved to meet your parents, Aang. I hope you'll be able to at least meet my father."

"I'm sure I'll be able to! We'll probably see him before the end of the summer!"

Katara nodded. There was something that still didn't feel right, though. It was warm in the air. They were nearing the North Pole, so why was it so warm? She turned towards Momo, who was sitting atop Appa's head, ears perked up high and listening for something. She gave a tug at Aang's sleeve, pointing towards Momo.

"What's with him?"

"I don't know. Maybe he hears something below in the ocean," Aang went forward to sit on Appa's head, pulling back the reins so Appa would understand to fly down. "Yip yip, Appa!"

Sokka woke up finally, stretching. He must have felt Appa shifting his speed to something a bit more slower so the impact with the water was softer. Toph still slept, which the other three were grateful for. She would be complaining in an instant because of all the water around her. Katara crawled her way up towards Aang, who made room for her.

"Do you know what it is?" Katara pulled her parka over her head, although it was still too small. The wind was freezing now.

"I can't see or hear a thing. Momo was probably just watching out for any danger. I'm sure it's nothing, Katara. Don't worry about it!" Aang said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, it's nothing."

Sokka took a piece of bread out of one of the baskets, happy that Katara didn't object to him eating. He was always hungry when he woke up, so she understood completely. Aang put his arm around Katara's waist. She didn't wriggle away, but instead she cuddled against him, feeling warm. Sokka felt as though he was going to throw up. He never thought his little sister would fall in love with someone who was two years younger than her. But age didn't matter. Suki was a year older than him, right? Did that matter? He didn't think so.

"Look! The outer wall to the North Pole! I had a feeling we were close!" Katara shouted, waking Toph. "Toph! Look at the outer wall! That's the symbol of the Northern Water Tribe! I'm so glad they fixed it! It was a magnificent sight!"

"You had to wake me up, didn't you?" Toph grunted, yawning widely. "Oh, wow."

Toph realized she was in a world of ice. There wasn't a single tree anywhere, no dirt, and not even a single rock. She rolled her eyes, but it was beautiful. She began to shiver, and thanks to Sokka noticing, he gave her his parka.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can sew you up something green!"

"I don't care what color it is, Sokka. As long as it is warm and doesn't freeze me, I'm good to go!" Toph snapped at him, but snuggled herself into the parka, which was way too large for her. "Okay, too big, but it'll do for now."

Katara gave a tiny laugh as Toph tried to pull her arms through the sleeves with little success. The doors to the Northern Water Tribe opened with the powers of Waterbenders, who bowed as they saw Aang. Finally, as Appa swam down the water streets of the city, they realized that they were going to stop the Fire Nation. Katara smiled at Aang, who gave his innocent smile. It was time for the world to begin again without the Fire Nation attacking.

"Avatar Aang, Katara, Sokka, and someone who I have never seen before! Who might you be?" the king spoke as they walked up the steps to the palace.

"I'm Toph of the Earth Kingdom. I am delighted to be in your city."

"Thank you! Welcome, Toph, and to the rest of you as well. What brings you back to the North Pole?"

"Some important information that might make the Fire Nation completely defenseless," Katara said, and nodded to her brother.

Sokka dug through a bag that was slung over his shoulder and pulled out an old scroll. The king took it out of his hands and looked at it, his eyes widening as he continued on. He rolled the scroll up and handed it back to Sokka, and motioned for them to follow him into the palace.

"Toph, I see that parka is a bit too big for you. I'll have one of the seamstresses take your measurements and make one for you. Ah, there they are now! Fiona, you wouldn't mind making a parka and some shoes for this girl, would you?"

"No, sire. I would be delighted, actually! Please follow me!"

"I can't see with the ice. I need someone to lead me," Toph said, her head down. "I'm blind, but I can see by vibrations in the Earth. Without any rock around, I can barely see anything. It's all black now."

The seamstress took Toph's hand, who smiled when she did. Waving good-bye to her friends, she allowed the seamstress to lead her into a room completely away from the main hall they were heading towards. Katara and Aang held hands, and didn't even separate when they sat down before the king. His wife sat in Yue's old place, holding a necklace in her hands. She looked frail, weak, and sickly. Katara looked over at Sokka. His head was down. It was hard for him to come back to the place where he lost someone that actually loved him for him. Princess Yue was now the Moon Spirit, giving back the life the moon had given her when she was a sickly newborn. Katara bit her bottom lip as she saw a tear fall from Sokka's nose. He was truly depressed about Yue, but he had Suki.

"Sokka, it'll be alright. If you want to, you can go to the Spiritual Place after this," Katara put a hand on her brother's back, patting him.

"That's what I was planning on doing. Maybe she'll show up," Sokka whispered, looking up as a few other men entered the room.

"Now, this solar eclipse. We'll need to prepare for it quickly. If the Earth Kingdom won't listen, we will."


	13. Zulu's Secret

Zuko looked up from the paper he was reading. There stood Zulu, still dressed in the outfit he saw her the night before. He gave a smile to her, one that was so boyish it was unreal. Zulu gave a tiny laugh, asking if she could have a cup of rose tea. His uncle immediately sat her down to a steaming cup, and she gave a laugh when Zuko looked at his uncle weirdly.

"You must be General Iroh," Zulu said.

Iroh stopped in his tracks, turning around slowly to look at his nephew. The stare made Zuko so fearful for a second, but he shrugged his shoulders, heading to the back to start washing dishes like he was supposed to. Iroh followed him, anger filling up in his mind and heart.

"Zuko! I told you that we can't tell anyone!" Iroh hissed in his nephew's ear.

"Uncle, she is a Fire Dancer. Can't you tell by the bangles on her wrists and the bands around her ankles?"  
"Of course I can, but how do we not know she isn't a spy for the Fire Nation?"

"Did you see the scar on her upper arm? She was burnt there when she was ten years old by a Firebender who attacked her village to control it. She was in the resistance!"

"Then we must report her!"

Zuko shook his head furiously, and steam started to rise from his nostrils. Iroh took a step back. Zuko was starting to become angry and it wasn't the best thing if he was angry. Iroh sighed. He wondered how his nephew met this girl. He took Zuko out back, starting to ask questions.

"I can't tell you out here. There's too much space. I'll tell you tonight. Actually, I'll show you where I met her!" Zuko said, holding his hand out to tell his Uncle that he promised. Iroh shook his nephew's hand slowly. "Besides, there are more like her."

"What?"

"I told you that I was going to show you! Now we have to get back in there. It looks like some more customers came in," Zuko stepped into the building, reaching for a tray to take out a few more china cups for the customers.

Meanwhile, inside, Zulu was talking to another girl that entered, who asked about her strange outfit. Zuko quietly listened to her while he gave the customers their cups and menus, in case they wished to buy some desserts along with their tea.

"I am just into the outfits of the Fire Nation women. I don't support them, oh no. This is a traditional Fire Dancer outfit, and I dance like the Fire Dancers do. I bend my body in ways that a normal human can't."

"That is so amazing. I wish I was as flexible as you. Well, it was nice to know what you do, Zulu! I'll see you around, I guess."

The girl left, and Zuko moved forward. He sat down at the table, causing Zulu to give such a smile that Zuko melted on the inside.

"Well, I couldn't help but overhearing you, but is that even true?"

"You saw me last night, Lee. I am a Fire Dancer, minus the fire," Zulu winked. She even knew his nickname. Bom really did tell them everything about Zuko. "Are you coming tonight?"

"Of course I am! I hope to see more of your dancing, Zulu."

"You always will, Zulu. But in two days we won't have the meeting, and I want to go out on a date with you."

Zuko's eyes widened and his heart soared. Zulu was asking him out on a date! He nodded furiously. Zulu laughed, putting a hand on his scar. The mood suddenly tensed, but it was still full of love.

"Your father is a ruthless man, Lee. I heard of what happened here in Bai Sing Se. A few refugees came to my home and told me of your accident with him. You had the right to stand up for what you believed in, and if that is the price of freedom and equality, then being scarred for life is worth it."

Zuko smiled, putting a hand over Zulu's. She blushed a bit, smiling softly. She had sadness in her eyes, though. Zuko wanted to ask what really happened to her parents, her family, and her village. He hadn't heard of the place she was born in.

"What happened? You know, when you were ten."

Zulu slowly moved her hand away, her smile slipping away. She didn't look like she wanted to talk about, but she took a deep breath, ready to begin.

"My father was the leader of the resistance group against the war. He had just created it a year before the incident. I was a young Firebender being taught Fire Dancing at the local school, but I didn't know what my father was up to," Zulu wiped away a tear. "Then the day came. I was doing my new tricks in the street near the edge of town. They came. I screamed, trying to use my Firebending to protect myself, but I wasn't taught to fight. I was taught to use the flames for beauty, not violence. I was burnt on my arm, and they punched me as well. Hard, in the stomach. I was tall for my age then, so I thought I could take them on. I couldn't.

"They went towards my home first. I ran after them after I caught my breath from being punched in the stomach. I did my dancing moves to try and stop them, but they laughed, punching me this time in the face. I blacked out, hearing the screams of my mother as they burnt the house down. I had a one-year-old brother as well, and I haven't found him since, because my grandmother escaped with him and we were separated," Zulu wiped her eyes again. "I headed out with my friend Fiora and told her we should go to Bai Sing Se, the safest city in the world. She said our gifts wouldn't be appreciated there. I protested, telling her that it was the only place we would be allowed in. When we arrived, we were treated for our injuries, but the burns they wouldn't heal. It was a way they could keep track of us. Yuna soon caught up, after following her seriously injured brother, who was seventeen at the time. She was injured too."

Zuko had his eyes closed. He opened them, tears flowing down his cheeks. His grandfather had been in control then, so he had caused the pain. Zuko's heart ached for Zulu and all of her friends. She couldn't see her family anymore. Her brother was out there, alone in the world. Zuko pulled Zulu into a hug. She was crying in full force now, and needed the shoulder to cry on.

"It'll be okay, Zulu," Zuko whispered in her ear. "I'll protect you from now on. When I rule the Fire Nation, I'll stop the war. For you."


	14. It Seems Like A Dream

Sokka entered the most spiritual place in the whole North Pole, closing the tiny door behind him. He had left Katara, Aang, and Toph to play in the snow out in front of the palace, Toph trying to figure out how to build a snowman. He walked over to the tiny peninsula that went into the tiny pond. He sat down, watching the two Koi fish swimming around in a circle. They were Yin and Yang, better known as the Moon Spirit. He watched the white fish, the Moon Spirit in its mortal form, swim towards him.

"Hey, Yue. I know how you feel. But you have the Ocean Spirit to take care of you. I wish only I could have," Sokka wiped tears that were filling up his eyes.

Suddenly, a bright light started to from around the pond. The white Koi fish's eyes were starting to glow. Sokka backed up, eyes wide. What was going on? Out of nowhere, a beautiful woman in light rose from the pond. It was the Moon Spirit. Sokka moved forward slowly, holding his hand out. The young woman put her small hand in his, smiling.

"Sokka…I thought you would never come again," the woman spoke.

"Yue," Sokka muttered. "I've thought of you every day. You are always on my mind. How come you never come and see me?"

"This is my home, Sokka. I can never leave the Ocean Spirit. But in your dreams, I am with you. In your heart, I'm with you. Everywhere you go, even in the night, I am there. You might not see the moon on some nights, but I am still in the sky. I am just hidden in the darkness, protecting the Ocean Spirit in a different way," Yue spoke, putting a pure white hand to his cheek. Sokka couldn't feel it at all. She was just a spirit, an illusion. "I wish I could feel your skin, Sokka. I wish you could hold me without your arms falling through me."

"Yue, I never wanted this to happen! I never wanted you to die this way!" Sokka called out.

"Sokka, it was my duty. I was about to change my mind as well. I was going to stop the engagement to that fool of a warrior and marry you."

Katara opened the tiny door, and gave a shout when she saw the woman glowing. She just stood there, Aang and Toph coming from behind her. Toph gave a yell when she felt the ground. She fell back onto the ground, rolling around. She was now wearing a light green jacket that looked similar to Katara's, but it wasn't. Katara had a new jacket on herself, and since she was about to turn fifteen, it was a light purple. She now had the choice of continuing with the color blue, the traditional color of the Water Tribes, or choose a light form of purple, such as lilac.

"Is that-?"

"It is! It's Yue!" Aang said, mouth opened wide. "But I thought you said she died?"

Katara nodded, taking Aang's hand and running towards Sokka. Yue gave a worried look to him, shaking her head.

"I must go now. I can't let all of these people see me, Sokka. Remember, I will always be with you," Yue leaned forward, kissing him.

"Yue, it's Aang and Katara! You know them! That's Toph! She's an Earthbender!"

"Sokka, I am so sorry," Yue started to disappear, but Sokka grabbed her hand, which turned into the tan color.

"Yue? What's going on?"

Katara and Aang stopped in their tracks. Toph didn't know what was going on, since she was still rolling around in the grass. Yue was becoming human again. Her hair became white, her eyes started to become blue, and her clothes were turning back into that of her Water Tribe Princess outfit. Sokka pulled her out of the pond when she became full human. The Moon Spirit, the Koi fish, that is, was swimming lively. Apparently it was either Yue or the Koi Fish giving half of their life to allow Yue to spend a few days as a human.

"Sokka, I said I was sorry because I am going to give my life up as the Moon Spirit. The Koi fish will have a week to find someone who is willing to take the Moon Spirit life out of me and give the life back to it. I will still live, but that person will give me their normal life, and it must be someone young. My age," Yue put her arms around Sokka. "I'll be able to marry you!"

Katara put her arms around Aang. She would give her life for Yue, but she wasn't ready to become something like the Moon Spirit. Besides, she had to help Aang in the fight against the Fire Nation. Aang nodded, understanding. They would have to help Yue. It was confusing to understand what she was trying to tell them but they understood that she needed a young woman who was willing to give her life for the princess. Which was pretty much everyone.

"Yue, this is so…weird. I mean, it isn't weird that you are alive, but it's weird that you came back from being the Moon Spirit," Sokka commented, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "Okay, now I'm really confused."

Yue gave a laugh. Sokka had a dreamy look flow over his eyes when she laughed. Katara gave a snigger and tugged at Aang's hand. She pulled him towards the waterfall, taking him behind it.

"What is it?"

"I just want to spend some time alone with you. Can you believe I'm almost fifteen? In the Southern Water Tribe, I'd be able to get married! But we're still too young in my eyes," Katara blushed so red it didn't seem like her.

"Yeah, we're too young. Although I do want to marry you. I'd really love it!" Aang gave a laugh that seemed very happy.

Katara took her mitten off, looking at her small hand. It was the same size as Yue's, but it was a bit darker than hers. Although the two Water Tribes were sisters, they had their differences. Katara took off her other mitten and stuffed them in her pockets. She slowly traced the arrow on Aang's forehead, smiling softly. The waterfall slowly became ice as she felt herself become warm. She didn't realize it, nor did Aang. He took her hand from his forehead and held it in his own, then kissed her. Their eyes closed as they pulled close to one another, the kiss becoming something more. Katara felt something so exhilarating whenever she kissed Aang. It wasn't like anything she had ever experienced, and it was much different than being with some other guy. Although she had never kissed a guy before Aang, she was glad that he was her first kiss.

"Katara! Aang! We need to head back to the palace!"

Katara pulled away reluctantly, but knew her brother would get angry if they didn't reply. Turning the iced waterfall back into water and pushing the waterfall apart as if it were a curtain, she and Aang walked out in unison, a look of sadness in their eyes since they could never get any alone time. Someone was always bothering them or they were always practicing their bending. Sokka stood there with his arm around Yue. Toph had finally meet Yue, who she thought was a princess, but not the royal kind. Toph stood there next to them as well, arms crossed, hands still in green mittens. She had brown boots on her feet, which made her look awfully ridiculous.

"Can't we ever get some alone time?" Aang said, following the other three.

"Nope!"

"But you and Yue-"

"Aang, hush! We'll talk about this later!" Sokka stopped him, staring dreamily into Yue's eyes. "You've grown so much more beautiful than before."

"Sokka!"

Katara and Aang took a look at one another. They shook their heads. Katara whispered an idea into Aang's ear, telling him that they would come back here later in the middle of the night and allow it just to be the two of them. Aang nodded happily, wanting that more than anything at the moment.


End file.
